‘Fast X’: Rome and Turin in the 10th instalment of 'Fast & Furious’
Fast X, the 10th instalment in Universal’s huge Fast & Furious franchise about car racing, directed by Louis Leterrier, will be released in theatres in Italy on 18 May.
One of the most popular and successful international franchises, Fast & Furious is bringing back the cast and characters featured at the start, in 2001, for the closing episodes.
Fast X is produced by Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Samantha Vincent and Justin Lin, based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson. The screenplay is by Lin and Dan Mazeau, executive producers are Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr., David Cain, Amanda Lewis, Chris Morgan and Mark Bomback.
Fast & Furious: cast of the 10th instalment
Vin Diesel is once again Dominic Toretto, a racing champion and criminal on the run, while his antagonist, Dante Reyes, is played by Jason Momoa.
Fast X, directed by Louis Leterrier, includes the original members of the cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Jason Statham, John Cena and Scott Eastwood, with the Oscar® winning actresses Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron.
The cast also includes new elements with Oscar® winner Brie Larson as Tess, a rebellious Agency officer; Alan Richtson as Aimes, the new Agency head who does not share his predecessor Mr Nobody’s fondness for Dom’s team; Daniela Melchior as Isabel, a Brazilian street racer with a strong link to Dom’s past; and Oscar® winner Rita Moreno as Abuelita Toretto, Dom and Mia’s grandmother.
The locations of Fast X
For over 20 years, the Fast & Furious saga has featured multiple locations all over the world.
"If I’d been told 23 years ago that I would have been lucky enough to be part of a legendary saga, celebrated and enjoyed across the world, I would have said that was crazy – notes the star and producer Vin Diesel. – The first film was shot in Los Angeles, and set within the region. We had never contemplated the implications or attractions on a global scale. We certainly didn’t expect to be travelling all over the world with the theme of family”.
It was inevitable that the franchise would come to Italy at some point. The setting for the penultimate instalment of Fast & Furious was provided in particular by Rome and Turin.
"For Fast X, we went to London, Rome and Turin, to Portugal and up to Los Angeles … so, we closed the circle” commented the franchise producer Neal Moritz.
Thrilling scenes were shot on lungotevere Aventino, via del Teatro Marcello, via de' Funari, via degli Astalli and piazza Campitelli in particular, for a total of 20 roads in Rome.
“We did things in Rome that I don’t think have ever been done at that level. Then we left for Portugal and moved around the world” states producer Jeff Kirschenbaum.
In addition to the set in the heart of the capital was another in Castelli Romani, in Genzano, where the roads used were Via Belardi and Via Buozzi.
Two weeks of shooting also in Turin, where scenes of great visual impact with professional stuntmen specialized in car chases were shot in the city’s key roads, squares and bridges including: piazza Crimea and corso Fiume, the Umberto I and Vittorio Emanuele I bridges, the murazzi del Po, via Roma, and largo IV Marzo.
“Film Commission Torino Piemonte worked with the City’s councillors and the relevant offices and with the business community to prepare the city for a production machine, as extremely complicated as that of Fast & Furious, just as it was coming out of the emergency created by the pandemic (in May 2021 Turin also hosted the Salone del Libro, Eurovision Song Contest, festival dell’economia, and a stage of the Giro d’Italia). Turin demonstrated that it can manage hospitality and logistical aspects and provide the production with highly qualified and professional local personnel” noted Paolo Manera, FCTP Director about the Fast X shoot in the city.
Read the complete list of locations
Plot: Dominic Toretto’s most taxing mission
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto and his family have used their intelligence to beat and vanquish every enemy in their path. Now they face the most lethal adversary yet: a terrifying threat emerges from the shadows of the past, fuelled by a blood vendetta and determined to destroy the family and everything and everyone that Dom loves forever.
In Fast & Furious 5 (2011), Dom and the team eliminated the vicious Brazilian drug boss Hernan Reyes, decapitating his empire on a bridge in Rio De Janeiro. They certainly did not imagine that Reyes’ son, Dante (Jason Momoa), was a witness nor that he has spent the last 12 years thinking up a plan to make Dom pay a very high price.
Dante’s plan will scatter Dom’s family from Los Angeles to the catacombs of Rome, from Brazil to London and Portugal to the Antarctic. New alliances will be forged, old enemies will return. And everything will change when Dom discovers that his 8 year old son (Leo Abelo Perry) is the end target in Dante’s vendetta.